StarbucksCoin? Exec Says Coffee Seller Will 'Probably' Use Blockchain

February 27, 2018

Starbucks is likely to utilize blockchain technology as part of a new payments app, executive chairman Howard Shultz said Tuesday.

Speaking with Maria Bartiromo during a Fox Business segment, Schultz discussed the use of a "proprietary digital currency" in conjunction with the payments app. When asked whether the coffee retailer would use blockchain in conjunction with the initiative - as opposed to a more centralized system of accounting - Schultz said that the company "probably" would move in that direction.

"I think blockchain technology is probably the rails in which an integrated app at Starbucks will be sitting on top of," he commented.

His comments come roughly a month after the former chief executive spoke broadly during an earnings call about the chain's plans to utilize the tech, especially on the payments front (although he dismissed the idea that the company would use bitcoin in some way).

At the time, Schultz suggested that the tech may play a role in how Starbucks works to "expand digital customer relationships," though it remains to be seen how blockchain is ultimately used in practice by the company.

"I believe that we are heading into a new age, in which blockchain technology is going to provide a significant level of a digital currency that is going to have a consumer application," he remarked during the earnings call.

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